linkA vibrating ankle brace designed by a group of Stanford University students may help the elderly from falling.

The "smart" brace is fitted with a tiny chip, which continuously monitors the position of the ankle.

If the chip detects a roll that is greater than normal, it begins to vibrate.

The vibrations send a signal to the brain that the person needs to change the position of their foot or shift their balance in order to avoid a fall.

LINK... CME Teaching Brief - MedPage TodayAs a pharmaceutical used to treat Alzheimer's, Exelon -- like Cognex (tacrine), Aricept (donepezil), and Reminyl (galantamine) -- is one of the classes of acetylcholinesterase-inhibiting pharmaceuticals....the acetylcholinesterase inhibitors began as pesticides, and their close relatives -- including such compounds as malathion and parathion -- are still used to kill pests.

LINKOne of the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease, an accumulation of plaque deposits in brain tissues, may trigger the disorder in a way experts have not considered before.

Two sets of researchers now believe that plaque formed by the accumulation of beta-amyloid proteins might cause Alzheimer's disease by clogging cerebral blood vessels, as opposed to the brain itself.

The findings appear in the August issue of The American Journal of Pathology.

CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO COMPLETE ARTICLE- CME Teaching Brief - MedPage Today: "Nearly one third of visually impaired nursing home patients with Alzheimer's disease are not getting their vision corrected"

CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO COMPLETE ARTICLEAn attempt to make a vaccine to treat Alzheimer’s disease, abandoned after it caused dangerous brain inflammation in some patients, may have done the patients some good, researchers reported Monday.

They found evidence that the vaccine, made by Dublin-based Elan Corp. and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, helped clear some of the brain-destroying “plaques” that characterize the disease.

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WSJ.com -
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If you or a family member using Medicare has little income or savings, you may be able to get help paying for drugs when the program's prescription-drug benefit kicks in Jan. 1.

The assistance comes with a lot of paperwork, but it could be worth $2,100 a year on average, according to a government estimate. In contrast, most people using the new Medicare drug benefit would have to pay $3,600 out of pocket (for monthly premiums, an annual deductible and coinsurance) before getting any additional help. At that point, they still would pay 5% of the cost of each covered prescription.

CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO COMPLETE ARTICLEThe system provides a database of pictures, sound and video from years gone back. Its easy to use and that's the beauty of it. The carer and the person with dementia work together

CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO COMPLETE ARTICLEAnyone diagnosed before age 65 is considered an early-onset patient and proof that the disease isn't just an elderly affliction

In the U.S., 4.5 million people are diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Ten percent of those cases are early-onset

CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO COMPLETE ARTICLEThe Alzheimer's Association says 4.5 million Americans have the disease, and up to 16 million are expected to be diagnosed with it by 2050. As Alzheimer's becomes more prevalent, more people, including spouses, will become caregivers.

In the past several years, prominent Americans, including Ronald Reagan, have gone public with their diagnosis.

Now caregivers, who often remained behind closed doors, are emerging publicly as well. An estimated 60% to 70% of people with Alzheimer's are living in family homes.

This month, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor said she was retiring to spend more time with her husband, John O'Connor, who has had Alzheimer's disease for many years.

Johns Hopkins Hospital researchers have found that an experimental drug may further delay memory loss in patients with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.
"The findings in laboratory animals – both improved memory in our tests and evidence that the drug targets the biology for making memories in the brain – places this drug on solid footing as a candidate therapeutic agent," said the study's lead author, Michela Gallagher.

The compound, called SGS742, previously shown to improve memory in animals, is an experimental treatment for memory disorders. It is currently in human clinical trials led by California-based Saegis Pharmaceuticals Inc., which holds a worldwide exclusive license granted by the drug's developer.

Gallagher said these studies did not address the drug's potential as a cure or preventive treatment for Alzheimer's disease itself. They were intended, rather, to assess its potential as a treatment for the disease's key symptom: memory loss.

"Memory impairment occurs early in the disease and worsens as the disease progresses. However, until the later stages of the disease, memory is impaired but not entirely gone," Gallagher said. "By augmenting the brain's memory-making ability, drugs could be used to treat this symptom and to improve the quality of life for patients who have a disease that has a slow progression over years."